The Gathering
by GarnetVengeance
Summary: The story of how the infamous Shichinintai met and became the cruel band of mercenaries fated to one day meet the axe. Rated for violence, language, and a gay man. No yaoi. CHAPTER 1 REWRITTEN!
1. Prologue

This fic is written by Megaera, co-written by Shalimar.  
  
Disclaimer: What I wouldn't give to own Inuyasha. Or just the Shichinintai. Hell, I would give anything to own just Bankotsu.  
  
One quick note: The title was given to me by my LA teacher, Mr. Kay.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Prologue  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Alone, a young teen walked down the dusty road. It was easy to see he was a fighter by his clothes, gaudy though they may be. He did not care who he fought, be they youkai or human. He just wanted to become strong. He did not even know why anymore. He knew there had once been a reason, a good one. But he could not remember what it was. He frowned as he shifted his massive oohoko on his shoulder and shook his head, causing his charcoal locks to fall into his eyes. The boy was small, he could be no older then 15, and his weapon was bigger then him, yet he could lift it as though it were made out of wood, no iron and steel.  
  
He irritably brushed the hair out of his eyes. He did not know why he didn't just let it grow out and make it part of the rest of his braid. He sighed, then shrugged, shifting his weapon on his shoulder again. That was something he really didn't care to think about, and he was too tired, anyway. He had been walking for at least a week with no sign of a village, and he was bored out of his mind.  
  
As though sensing his thoughts, as he broke over the hill, a village appeared. He smiled innocently, betraying the darkness in his soul, his love of the slaughter. He quickened his pace slightly, previous exhaustion forgotten, and briskly walked down the hill, his smile fading to a small smirk that played across his handsome face.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
The young teen sat on a porch in the village, and stretched his sore muscles. His oohoko lay across his lap, a bloodstained cloth on the ground beside him. He lifted his weapon to the light of the setting sun, examining it, and then smiled. There was not a spot of blood left on the blade. He slid the purple cover back onto the colossal weapon, and surveyed the village. Villagers lay everywhere, stained in their own blood. The looks of horror were frozen across their faces, the lifeless eyes that would forever stare into nothingness would have greatly disturbed any other, but meant nothing to the boy. He smiled, malice flashing across his blue eyes for a moment, then vanishing, making, if anyone alive had been nearby to see it, wonder if it was ever there.  
  
(A/N: Well, the prologue. Hoped you liked it. If, IF I have some reviews by the time I'm done the first chapter, I'll put it up. However, I have a little rule about reviews. It's along the lines of 'If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all'. I don't mind productive criticism, but make it stuff I can CHANGE. Don't go saying 'He wouldn't kill a village for no reason' or something. Say 'Story's great, but the grammar was bad' or something. If you go saying 'He wouldn't do that' or something, I won't count it as a review and I won't put up the next chapter, so there. Ok, I need a reasonable number... I want 3 review, no reviewing twice, on this chapter at least. You're welcome to review on the next chapter if you've reviewed on this one, if you want.) 


	2. Chapter 1

* * *

Chapter 1

* * *

A dark haired teen walked down a dusty, deserted road. He had a carefree look about him, a wistful gaze. His clothing was odd, at the very least. Unlike most men in that feudal era, he wore no visible armor, not even pants, really. His legs were exposed, at least one of them, his clothes loose and haphazardly, with a scarf loosely draped about his neck, and one hand holding the odd looking sword behind his back. His dark hair was looped about itself and held in place by a butterfly pin.

And, he was bored. And not the kind of boredom that just comes from having nothing to do – he could solve that easily. This was the kind of boredom that came from having nothing he _wanted_ to do.

He sighed, re-adjusting the sword on his shoulder. The worst part was, he was in farm country. And everyone knows, farm country – at least in this day and age – tended to be full of doddering men who were too old to fight, so they stayed home in the field.

He sighed again, glancing at the scenery around him. It was early winter, or late fall, depending on how you looked at it. The trees had lost most of their leaves, and even though snow hadn't begun to fall, there was still a definite winter chill to the air. He frowned. His feet were cold, as were his legs. Perhaps he should consider wearing pants or something, at least until spring came along.

He paused, his ears perked. He heard something. Swords?

"Let's check it out, shall we?" He asked no one in particular, breaking into a brisk trot, "Maybe there's a good-looking guy or two." The sound of fighting became louder- he must be heading in the right direction. He paused, listening. They were close, but nowhere in sight. He frowned. He wanted to get there before too many of them died. With no other real option, he turned and headed into the wood.

He hated woods – he heard someone cry out, probably in extreme pain or death – they tended to scratch his legs, his face, and sometimes even his feet, as he wore simple flip-flops. He heard someone else cry out, and a muffled 'thump'. He broke into the clearing just in time to watch the last man hit the ground.

Correction, second-last man.

The last man –correction, a teen, possibly 3, maybe 4 years younger than himself -turned and faced him, his gigantic halberd resting casually on one shoulder. "Yo."

"Well, damn." He sighed, a whining tone entering his voice, "They're all dead!"

"Why do you care?" The teen with the halberd asked. He was dressed gaudily, but anyone with eyes could tell that this teen, despite his years, was an experienced fighter. After all, he was surrounded by at least 15, 20 grown men, all dead, and the teen didn't seem even the slightest out of breath. "Unless, of course, you're with these guys." He nodded his head towards the corpses, and tightened his grip on the massive weapon on his shoulder.

"Me?" He asked, "No, no, no, no. I just heard fighting, and thought I'd join in." He smiled disarmingly.

"You?" He snorted, looking the man over, "Be thankful you didn't make it in time. I would've kicked your ass, if these guys didn't." He motioned to the corpses.

"Oh really?" He smirked, unsheathing his sword, "Care to test that theory out?"

"No." The man replied, turning on his heel, "I don't like to fight weaklings. Not my thing. Much as I'd love to just kill you now, I've had my fill of killing for the day. Come back tomorrow." He waved his hand dismissively.

"O-oi!" He cried, nearly falling over in surprise, "You can't just turn away! I challenged you!"

"Later." Was all he got as a reply.

"Now just a god-damn MINUTE!" He cried, slashing his wickedly curved blade in the direction of the man, even though he was a good number of feet away by now.

White lightning streaked towards the charcoal-haired teen, slicing through the trees by his side and arcing back around, landing with a comfortable 'thunk' in the trunk of yet another unsuspecting tree. The teen was left with no way out.

He gave an impressed whistle, and turned to face the older man. "Impressive."

"I'm not about to let such a cute guy get away so easily." He smiled, recalling the blades with a tug.

"Sorry, but I like women." The teen replied dryly, "But I will fight you. This is starting to look interesting." He smirked, lifting the enormous weapon off of his shoulder and holding it in front of him.

_Okay,_ he took a breath,_ if he's using a weapon that huge, he's probably strong. Speed- not so much. Perfect._ He smirked. He couldn't wait for this guy to be at his feet, bloodied and begging for mercy, among other things.

"What's the matter? Hurry up and attack." The teen snapped, "If you won't, I will!" (1)He took a step forward, then quickly dodged to the side.

"What the-" He cried, trying desperately to follow the younger man's movements. He was faster than expected. Catching a flicker of movement to his right, he slashed in that direction, his blades slithering to their target, slicing branches and trunks in their path. "You can't escape!" He chirped. He heard a faint 'thunk' from between the trees, and blinked. He hadn't expected him to go down_ that_ quickly.

"Over here!" He heard a voice cry.

He spun, just in time to see the man leap towards him from behind, halberd poised. He jumped lithely to the side, narrowly avoided the colossal blade as it tore apart the earth where he had been standing only moments before.

He cursed, stumbling back a few steps. He tugged on his sword, intending to recall the blades and attack again, only to find it would not. He cursed again, and saw that, since the end of his sword still remained lodged in a tree, with the little maneuver he had taken to avoid the teens attack had wrapped the rest around another tree, like some warped pulley _not_ in his favor. He seethed, placing both hands on the hilt and tugging.

"Too slow!" He heard the teen laugh, and looked up just in time to be punched in the face.

He flew backwards, losing his grip on his sword. He landed roughly on the ground, nursing his sore cheek, "Man, that's not very nice…" He whined, before rolling to the side, side-stepping around his opponent, and grabbing his sword, untangling his sword before the teen even knew what hit him – even though technically nothing did. Yet.

He gave a light tug, this time recalling the blades smoothly and swiftly. "Who's too slow now, blue-eyes?" He cooed. The teen just stared at him.

"And now, we get to take a look at your insides!" He laughed, unmindful of his opponent's uncharacteristic silence. He slashed his sword, expecting the younger man to burst into a beautiful elegy of screams, but was instead greeted with an ugly screeching sound – not the one he had expected to hear.

"Na-nani!" (Translation: (if you don't know this you really are a pathetic anime fan.) What!) He turned helplessly to start at his sword, which seemed unwilling to strike the teen. Its blades were still gathered, but through no choice of their own.

Coating the many blades was sap. Gooey sap, that had just been thickening for winter. Sticky sap, the kind that took many, many days to wash off of anything. It _covered_ his sword blades, preventing them from streaking outward like the snake they had been named after.

He turned to stare, shocked, at the calm visage of the younger teen. Had he planned this their entire battle? "A…amazing." He lowered his sword, totally in awe of the charcoal-hair teen. He had known he was strong, but to be able to do something such as this in the middle of what he considered to be heated battle… this was out of his league, and that was saying something.

"I surrender." He held up his hands.

"Smart man." The teen smirked, walking over to where he had left his halberd before his assault on the older man's face. "I'm Bankotsu, by the way, if you ever want a rematch." He placed the weapon back on his shoulder.

"Well, Bankotsu-chan, I am Jakotsu, master of the Jakotsutou." (2)He smiled, lifting his sheath from the dirt and returning his sword to it with a grimace. He'd have to clean it later. Not fun.

"Cocky for someone who just got their ass handed to them." Bankotsu laughed.

"After confidence, victory is the first thing to go." Jakotsu smiled in return.

"I suppose. Later." Bankotsu lifted his hand, and gave a short wave to the older teen.

"Wait!" Jakotsu called, jogging after the younger man.

"Come on; don't tell me you want to fight again?" Bankotsu sighed, not stopping.

"No." Jakotsu snorted, "But as I said, I'm not going to let someone as cute as you get way."

"What?" Bankotsu turned to stare disbelieving at the taller man. Even staring up at someone –which happened often- he could be intimidating.

He just wasn't now, with surprise plastered all over his face.

"I'm going to travel with you, Bankotsu-chan." Jakotsu sang, walking past the black-haired-teen.

"You're going to even if I tell you not to, aren't you?" Bankotsu sighed.

"Yup! I'm as sticky as that sap!" He grinned, giving a thumbs-up.

"Whatever. As long as you stop calling me Bankotsu-chan. Otherwise I'll have to kill you."

"Sure thing, koibito." (Translation: lover)

"Not that, either. Unless you want to die. You're choice."

"Anata?" (Translation: Honey/darling – endearments.)

"No."

And so, one of the deadliest groups in the history of Japan began.

"Darling?"

"No."

------------------

End Chapter 1

------------------

(1-- I know. Purposeful!

2-- Jakotsu's sword. Written with 'snake' 'bone' and 'sword'.)

(A/N: Well, that's chapter 1, version 2.0 for you. I must say, it's much, MUCH better than the first. I HATED that chapter- I didn't like what I did to Jakotsu. Which is actually the reason I couldn't seem to write the second chapter, which I'll get started on right away, don't worry. Oh, and my SINCEREST APOLOGIES for taking so long to update. Yes, it's just a revamp, so it doesn't count, so I'll get started on that TOMORROW. (It's 11:30 at night and I've been working on this, since, like 7:30-ish. My eyes are starting to hurt.) But… like… High school is hard! And my mother stole my computer! And then I had to write during Info. Pro at school and that was HARD because I was half-way through the old version of chapter 2, and I couldn't remember where I'd left off and … and….

I'll stop now.

So I'll update soon, I PROMISE. In the meantime, review! Old readers, is this better or worse than the old chapter 1? New readers, is it good? Please, tell me!)


	3. Chapter 3

Opening Notes: Apologies for not updating sooner. Also, if you're reading this, make sure you've read the re-make of Chapter 1 – I put it up sometime in June, 2005.

* * *

Chapter 2

* * *

"You're completely nuts, Jakotsu." Bankotsu sighed as he drank his sake, watching Jakotsu decide who in the village was cute and who was not. 

Jakotsu sighed as he drank his own sake. "Man, this village is full of ugly men. The cutest man here is you, Bankotsu-chan."

"What does that mean?" Bankotsu asked.

"Exactly what it sounds like." Jakotsu replied, drinking the last of his sake.

Bankotsu sighed again. If he could, he probably would have killed, or at least mortally wounded this man long ago. True, when they had fought, Bankotsu had won, but he was experienced enough to know that, had the fight continued longer, the outcome may not have been the same.

"E-excuse me." Said an old man, approaching the pair.

"Nnn?" Bankotsu muttered, looking up from his sake.

"But, would you two… happen to be demon slayers?" The old man asked hesitantly.

"That depends on how much you're willing to pay." Bankotsu smirked. This might be fun. Whenever he was in need of cash, there was always some pathetic little village that needed saving. This was one of the few rules Bankotsu lived by, and it had served him well over his years as a wandering swordsman. (A/N: I figure that's what you'd call him, since the Banryuu is really just a giant sword. O.O I can't very well call him a halberdman or something, can I?)

"As much as you want!" The old man sputtered, falling to his knees before of the two teens, "Please, I beg of you, just rescue my daughter!"

"Daughter?" Jakotsu whined, "Why is always daughter? It can never been 'my young handsome son', oh no, it's always 'daughter'." His sniffed reproachfully, "Stupid women. Always getting themselves captured."

"Alright. If it pays 'as much as I want'." Bankotsu smirked again, ignoring the older teen. "Where is this demon you need slaying?"

Hope flashed across the old mans face as he picked himself up from the dirt. "Over there." He said excitedly, pointing east.

"Gee, that's helpful." Jakotsu sighed, his head in his hands.

"On that mountain is a small mansion. The demon lives there." The man explained. "If you follow this road, you'll reach a fork. Take the right fork, and it'll take you to the mansion."

"Right then. I just hope you're prepared to pay 'as much as I want' once I get back." Bankotsu said, grabbing his halberd and setting it on his shoulder.

"Of course, of course!" The man said, bowing his head.

Bankotsu rolled his eyes, and walked past.

"Oi, Bankotsu-chan!" Jakotsu called after him.

Bankotsu sighed. He'd forgotten for a moment that Jakotsu was intent on following him, "What?"

"What's all this 'I' stuff? There's no 'I' in team, you know." Jakotsu pouted, "You haven't forgotten about me, have you?"

"I did, for a moment. But then you reminded me."

"You sound almost like you don't LIKE me traveling with you!" Jakotsu shouted, obviously appalled.

"You're not 'traveling with me'. You're following me." Bankotsu explained, gritting his teeth, "And you're useless. What makes you think I'd want you with me?"

"Useless!" The older man exclaimed, "That hurts!"

"Prove me wrong." Bankotsu shrugged, "I defeated you easily. Why would I need you around?" This was a small lie on his part, and Bankotsu knew it. It had been sheer luck that Jakotsu's sword had been glued up by that sap.

"Alright, I will!" Jakotsu said, his mouth set in a thin line, "I'll go defeat that demon for you, how does that sound?"

Bankotsu shrugged, "Do as you will."

"Right then." Jakotsu said, fire appearing around him in true anime-style, "I'll meet you there, Bankotsu-chan!" He waved, and started jogging ahead.

"What an oddball." Bankotsu said, raising an eyebrow at the antics of the uppity teenager.

* * *

"Nice decorating job." Bankotsu commented sarcastically as the mansion came into view. It was obviously not very well cared for, with just about everything in tatters and greenery growing over everything it could reach. It was dead silent – but this was no surprise, there didn't seem to be a living thing anywhere in the vicinity – minus the occasion sounds of battle coming from the rear courtyard. 

Bankotsu raised an eyebrow. If Jakotsu was still fighting that thing, perhaps it would serve as a decent challenge. He quickened his pace slightly, following the sound of the fight.

As usual in any sort of fight scene, Bankotsu made his way into the back courtyard, where he saw Jakotsu and the demon, as he expected. However, he also saw why Jakotsu was having trouble.

Jakotsu's sword, the Jakotsutou, was modeled after a snake, as the name implies. When facing human and most demonic opponents, this gives the teen a decided edge, as a snake is quick and difficult to predict.

However, when facing a _snake demon_, it poses a bit of a problem. The demon was getting decidedly close to Jakotsu, who _wasn't_ like a snake. Jakotsu was swinging his blade about quite wildly, trying to drive the demon back, but with very little success. Both opponents were obviously exhausted, neither seeming to gain any ground.

And Bankotsu stood, watching. He had to admit, that Jakotsu character was determined. Why would he go to such lengths to prove himself to Bankotsu? Sure, Bankotsu was good looking, but he didn't think anyone would risk their _lives_ to simply _travel_ with him. Bankotsu had never had _anyone_ feel that sort of devotion towards him.

It made him feel a little fuzzy inside. (1)

He glanced around the courtyard, seemingly oblivious to the heated battle going on in front of him. It was closed off, with the same theme going as the rest of the mansion. Overgrown plants, decaying walls, the works. There was a small stream running through, and it looked as though it had once poured into a koi pond, but that had long fallen into disuse and was now more a muddy sanctuary for various insects.

There was a woman lying off to one side, seemingly unconscious. Bankotsu assumed that she was the old man's daughter, the one that needed rescuing. Here's hoping she wasn't dead.

He turned back to the fight, the very image of calm. His halberd still sat on his shoulder, cover and all. He watched for a few more moments, pondering whether or not he should step in, when the snake demon dodged Jakotsu's blade, heading straight for the mere mortal. He heard Jakotsu curse as he dodged to the side, barely avoiding the demon's nearly successful attack.

Jakotsu was obviously exhausted. With his fighting style – swinging he sword around while observing from a safe distance – he was normally able to keep going much longer than his opponents could hope, which was a major plus for the man's weird fetishes. However, as he was being forced to dodge back and forth to avoid the snake's attacks, he was getting worn down fast, whereas the snake obviously had a bit more fight left in him.

Bankotsu frowned, weighing his options.

He could help the older man – then it would be two against one.

Or, he could wait, and let Jakotsu exhaust the demon a bit more.

But… He doubted Jakotsu had enough left in him to exhaust the demon more, and it wasn't as though Bankotsu NEEDED the demon to be exhausted.

Nodding, satisfied, he calmly slid the cover off of his massive sword, folding it neatly into a pile and setting it aside where it wouldn't get ruined – he had, after all, just gotten it. He turned, took another look at the battle, and, giving his Banryuu an experimental spin, leapt into the fray.

* * *

Bankotsu clicked his tongue. "Well, damn. This has got to be your fault, Jakotsu." He sighed, glancing at the taller man. They stood in the abandoned garden, Bankotsu leaning easily on his halberd, Jakotsu standing nearby. 

"And how is it _my_ fault?" Jakotsu asked incredulously.

"You were here first. It was the job to rescue her." He pointed out.

"No, _your_ job was to rescue her. I just promised you I'd defeat the demon, remember?" He grinned.

"That's one lame-ass excuse, Jakotsu." Bankotsu raised an eyebrow.

"She was dead when I got here." Jakotsu said, exasperated, "Stupid woman."

"Nnnn." Bankotsu grunted, staring at him disbelievingly.

"It's true!" Jakotsu cried.

"Whatever." Bankotsu sighed, pulling his sword out of the ground and returning it to his shoulder.

"It is!" Jakotsu called after the shorter boy.

"I _totally_ believe you." Bankotsu said sarcastically as he started ahead. "After all, why wouldn't I?"

"You're lying and you know it, ani-" Jakotsu snapped, spinning on his heel and tripping. With a cry, and a rather messy splash, he was in the former koi pond, his black hair bedraggled and unbound by the fall, and his clothes even more haphazard than usual. "Oh, fiddlesticks." He snarled, striking the water.

Bankotsu just laughed. "Nice one, Jakotsu." He chuckled, offering the half-drowned teen a hand.

"Shut up, aniki. (2)" Jakotsu sighed, wringing out his pants.

"Aniki?" Bankotsu asked, genuinely surprised.

"Yup." Jakotsu answered brusquely, turning away and heading out of the woods.

"Where did that come from?" Bankotsu asked, jogging up alongside.

"I just decided." Jakotsu shrugged, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"'You just decided'?" Bankotsu repeated.

"Yeah, I just said that." Jakotsu blinked, before smirking, "Would you rather I call you lover?" He asked, almost hopeful.

"Aniki is fine." Bankotsu said flatly, quickening his pace.

"Aw, come on, aniki!" Jakotsu whined.

"_No._"

"But-"

"NO."

"Ple-"

"Don't make me kill you, little brother."

"Hmph."

--------------

End Chapter 2

--------------

1 -- As a side note, this is NOT A YAOI/SHONEN-AI fic. This is BROTHERLY LOVE, people. BROTHERLY. LOVE.

2 – Translation – older brother. It's much cooler than how in the English it's just 'brother' – it's OLDER brother, though it has more of a 'boss' or 'leader' feel to it… only, more of a 'brotherly boss'…. Just… stick with the older brother translation.

Ending notes: Okay, I know I promised this a while ago, but I was working on it, and I got up the snake, and it was like BAM! A wall. Soooooo sorry. Totally my fault.

On a different note, English Bankotsu was BUTCHERED. They did ALL THE OTHER Shichinintai fine, but they RUINED HIM. Not to mention he said 'That white fog enveloped me…' He's an ILLITERATE MERCENARY. THEY DON'T USE WORDS LIKE 'ENVELOPED', OKAY!


End file.
